Nå er det min tur til å be dere om å mobilisere dere for en god sak.

Norges Handikapforbund, Norsk Forbund for Utviklingshemmede og ULOBA har gått sammen i en allianse for å kjempe frem en individuell rettighetsfesting av Brukerstyrt Personlig Assistanse (BPA). Kampanjen kalles Mitt Liv, og handler om friheten til å leve selvstendig selv om man lever med nedsatt funksjonsevne. Jeg er en av de mange som er avhengige av å ha personlige assistenter i hverdagen for å kunne leve et selvstendig liv, og har derfor BPA gjennom Trondheim kommune. Selv om kommunene har lovbestemt plikt til å tilby BPA, har ingen rett til å kreve ordningen. Beklageligvis finnes det ingen tydelig definisjon på hva BPA er, og ordningen blir derfor praktisert ulikt over hele landet.

Vil du lese mer om kampanjen Mitt Liv?
Du finner den på FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/mittliv2010

“Hvis jag kan få assistans på det jag är dårlig på, kan jag göra det jag är bra på.”
David Lega

Sheesh, I’m feeling so uninspired these days. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve logged into my blog to update, but then just closed the page without typing a single word. Our window is still broken. We still have one Chihuahua, as opposed to two. I’m still a brunette. They say fall is a time for change, when some things end and others begin – not that I’m planning on going blond or anything, but there’s definitely been a change of future plans.

Due to some personal issues I’ve decided to postpone school once again, so I resigned from my spot last week. Don’t think it was an easy decision. I’ve spent several weeks pondering, talking it over with my family, trying to decide what would be best for me – but now that the decision has been made I feel only relief, and not regret. At least this time I don’t feel like a complete failure. I don’t have anything else mapped out for the coming year, but I’m sure new plans will emerge when time is ready. I haven’t worn any makeup for a very long time now, except for some mascara as I’m testing MUFE Smoky Lash Extra Black Mascara. It’s impossible to do a proper look when my pool of inspiration has dried up on me. What happened?

My neck is acting up again, and it’s frustrating wanting to do stuff without having the energy to follow through. Maybe it’s the weather. Maybe it’s the time of year. Maybe it’s just life. I hate the fall, go figure – and I hate the uncertainty of not knowing what’s coming in the near future.

I’m going to tell you about something quite fun that happened some time last week. I woke up with a rash on my elbow and was quite alarmed – I never experience rashes, so I decided to schedule an appointment with my doctor. I had also been troubled with severely dry lips, not to the extent that they actually looked chapped or anything, but it felt like I had french kissed the Sahara! I went to the doctor, showed him my arm – and also remembered to tell him about my forehead, which has been bugging me for just about forever. Because of my situation I don’t drink as much as I’m supposed to, so I’ve always assumed that was the reason why my skin had been acting up over the last years. My doctor glanced at my forehead – yes, he glanced – and told me that I’m suffering from something called Seborrhoeic Dermatitis. It sounds pretty scary and I’m sure it can be a horrible disease, but in my case it shows itself in the form of a tiny rash mainly concentrated along my hairline, on my forehead and above my eyebrows. He gave me a prescription for a cream, and told me that the rash on my elbow was triggered by the warm weather and would go away by itself.

I’ve now been using the prescribed cream for a week – naturally according to the doctor’s orders, and my skin has never looked as good as it does now! Seriously. I thought it might have been my imagination, but I actually saw a huge improvement after only three days, and the best thing? It isn’t itching anymore. As with most medical treatments there are possible side affects to this cream – and some of them are quite scary, so I didn’t want to use it for my lips. By using Google I found a product from Eau Thermale Avène called Cold Cream Lip Cream, and picked it up at the local apothecary. It’s nothing less than awesome! It’s intended for severe dryness, and it’s incredibly long-lasting.

I’m a little bummed out that I managed to ruin my summer tan by scratching my forehead sore, because I now have a few areas with a different coloration. Oh well, if it suddenly starts to bother me it can always be fixed with a little foundation. I don’t believe I’m saying this, but if that rash hadn’t appeared on my elbow, I might never have found the cause of my problems – and it could have gotten a lot worse.

Early this morning around 3 AM we finally arrived at home after a 13 hour long drive from Steigen. I never thought I would say these words, but thank God we’re home! I felt fine when I went to bed, but woke up this morning without being able to move due to a tremendous headache. Thankfully my painkillers decided to work for me today, so now I’m at least functioning to some extent. It was a long ten days up north. Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying here, it was nice seeing my parents again, and Odd, Lina and Marita, but I’m constantly reminded why I decided to leave Steigen in the first place. We did a lot of work while there, sorting through most of my childhood, throwing away lots and lots of.. crap. Some things were kept, other things given to charity – and the rest was just discarded as the garbage it was. I have collected a lot of crap over the years, but now it’s all sorted through. I found pictures, stuffed animals, letters and other small trinkets I decided to keep, reminding me of people who’s been dear to me but now is gone.

Theo had a ball together with Ozzy, Fenris and Tico, and it was extraordinary to watch them interact. Because my parents live as they do Theo was able to run free down by the Fjord, and of course he spent his time there running around like crazy. My mom called me up yesterday while we were on our way home, and told me that the others had spent the day looking for us and Theo. I think they considered him as a part of their pack, and didn’t want him to go back home so soon. Theo on the other hand has spent most of today sleeping. He’s experienced a lot this summer, and I’m sure he’s completely exhausted from all the impressions.

Anyway, my head isn’t really functioning here.. I just wanted to say that we’re back.

Oh, my spanking new and shiny iPhone 4 arrived today! I haven’t played too much with it yet due to my ridiculous neck and head, but my God.. the magnificent new screen is completely worth the money, believe you me! I’m amazed by the speed it used to reach me. Øyvind ordered it about an hour after it was released here in Norway on July 30th. Telenor said it was unconfirmed for August 15th, I got an e-mail telling me it was shipped on August 2nd – and it arrived today. How’s that for not sleeping in a queue to be one of the lucky ones!

I actually wrote a post yesterday, but decided to refrain from posting it because it was so.. whiny. I had a really crappy day, my head was hurting from the combination of not sleeping very well and staying in bed for too long. It might be related to the weather we’re having as well, I always feel crappy when it’s cold, rainy and horrible outside. Summer solstice has come and gone, which means that the sun has turned once again, and we’re heading towards fall. Already? But we haven’t even felt the summer yet.. it’s making me depressed. Thankfully we’re going to Paris in 13 days, and as long as the temperature there keeps above 20′C I’ll be happy. Everything above that is a bonus!

It just feels like some force is working against me, and I’m guess that’s fair since everything has been going smooth for quite a while now, but I’m a little sick of being kept in the dark about school this fall. I know, I have nothing to complain about, but the world automatically grows darker when I’m in pain. I already told you about being accepted into interaction design, and then being told it wasn’t going happen after all because of too few applicants. I was then told that I could choose whatever subject I would like from the remaining ones (since I’m officially on leave), so I decided to go back to graphic design. But, the things is.. I haven’t heard anything since that, and I’ve e-mailed them twice. Not that it’s extremely important, but it would be nice to know what I’m going to do with my life come fall. I’m not comfortable not knowing!

The shallow part of me is nagging to have me write about the package I’ve been expecting since it arrived in Norway on the 18th, but apparently still is somewhere between Oslo and here. Who would have thought that a small package could use more than two days between Oslo and Trondheim? Do they suddenly use mules? The package contains few pieces of piercing jewelry in 14 gauge. I’m in absolutely no rush, but I’m easily irritated when there’s unexplainable delays along the way. I mean, this package arrived in Norway on June 18th, the day after it was sent from the UK. Then it was sent to customs, even though its value – its actual value – is safely below the tax limit. On June 21st it was finally sent from the terminal in Oslo. Towards Trondheim. Or so I thought. Today, June 23rd, it’s still “on its way” and I have absolutely no idea to when I might expect it to arrive.

Edit:
Seems like my whining helped, Mr. Postman left me a notice to come pick it up today!

Yeah, so.. nothing else to report from Trondheim.
Peace out!